Honoured (and delighted) to have been appointed Editor of The Irish Times. I’m beyond proud to have the chance to work with such exceptionally talented journalists
All done: our presses are starting to roll with an edition that was, for the first time, produced entirely remotely, by staff working in hundreds of different locations. The digital operation continues uninterrupted. A great team effort and a huge feat in difficult circumstances
This happened. The attacks on our journalists are contemptible. They have our full support, and we will not be deterred from covering this important story.
The opera lover, the Jesuit, the GAA star.... We’ve spent weeks speaking to relatives of those who died with Covid-19. Tomorrow, with the launch of a dedicated site and a special print edition, we begin to tell the stories behind the numbers
By my count the programme for govt pledges 7 commissions, 6 taskforces, four committees, 73 reviews, 2 working groups, 2 forums, 2 councils, 3 Citizens' Assemblies, 2 agencies, a court and an expert group
This is 1983 turned on its head.
That year, 67% of voters said YES to inserting the abortion ban into the Constitution
Today, our exit poll suggests, 68% said YES to removing it.
Remarkable
Three interesting things in the Supreme Court statement. (1) By sub-contracting the review to retired CJ Susan Denham, whose fair-mindedness nobody will question, the judges are applying one of the lessons of the 1999 Sheedy Affair: the court cannot sit in judgment on its own
Dubliner Christopher McCormack went to Belfast in February to see The Strokes play live. A few weeks later, he was dead of Covid-19. He was just 32.
His story and several others have just been added to the Lives Lost site
Had a go at the marathon. What an atmosphere; even in the pouring rain, the crowds were five deep in places. Well done to everyone who ran, walked, cheered or volunteered. At 3:28 I was outside the podium spots by just… 2,612 places.
With tomorrow’s
@IrishTimes
, a special 48-page magazine on 1922 - a year of Civil War, sectarian violence, social change and experimentation in the arts. Essential reading for anyone interested in Ireland’s past - and how it shapes the present
The last office shutdown was in 1951, when parts of the Irish Times building on D’Olier St were gutted by fire. Some staff took up residence in the office of the Dublin Evening Mail and produced a four-page emergency edition. Anyway. Beyond proud of my colleagues tonight
Justine McCarthy is one of the sharpest observers of Irish life, and a really brilliant writer. Delighted to see her make her debut with The Irish Times. Don't miss her column - today and every Friday
‘The UK’s attempt to extricate itself from the EU has been such a debacle that the idea of withdrawal has become toxic even for the continent’s biggest headbangers.’
With tomorrow’s
@irishtimes
, a 48-page magazine looking at the events of 1921 - partition, the end of the War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty - and its legacy in Irish politics and culture. Cover design by
@Paul5cott
'It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Woulfe, in declining to step down, put his own interests ahead of those of the Supreme Court.' via
@IrishTimesOpEd
Her poetry spoke “to and from the intimate experience of women at a time when women’s voices were largely inaudible”. Máire Mhac an tSaoi obituary via
@IrishTimes
Our friend and colleague Dave McKechnie died suddenly this week. It's an unthinkable loss: he was among the kindest, most intelligent and funny people you could meet.
This is amazing. Thrilled we've won this overall award for such a big collaborative project involving so many great colleagues - more than 25 reporters, designers and sub-editors - across digital and print
The NewsBrands Ireland Journalist of the Year award 2020 goes to the team behind 'Lives Lost' from
@IrishTimes
edited by
@RuadhanIT
.
Sincere congratulations to everyone involved in this important piece of work.
#journoawards2020
sponsored by
@NationalLottery
Thinking of our colleague and hoping for a quick recovery. Our service continues on all platforms. Tomorrow’s paper has just gone to press, digital desks fully (if remotely) staffed and we go again tomorrow with the 8.30am editorial video-conference
Delighted we won this award for Lives Lost, our project telling the stories behind the numbers. A big effort by a team of 25+ reporters, designers and sub-editors. You can view the project here:
The winner of the Best Covid Journalism category is 'Lives Lost' by
@IrishTimesMag
edited by Ruadhan MacCormaic
@RuadhanIT
. Congratulations to everyone involved in this!
#JournoAwards2020
This day 4 years ago, I was at Trump’s election-night party in New York. Three things I remember:
(1) All that useless, pre-cooked copy
(2) The surprise on Trump’s face
(3) This cake
Shocked by Paul Anthony McDermott’s death. He was a brilliant lawyer, a talented writer and a good friend – generous, funny and endlessly curious about the world. Thinking of Annick and the boys via
@IrishTimes
‘Irish, like any language, is a way of seeing, a way of being. Encoded within it are centuries of history and culture that non-speakers cannot access, echoes they cannot hear.’
@MaryButlerTD
@IrishTimes
Hi Mary. The Irish Times, in its editorial position, has been against the 8th Amendment for 35 years. It was no secret. However, our news coverage is a different matter. There, we make every effort to be fair and impartial on this and every other issue
‘He transformed Irish nationalism by making it about people, not territory, by forcing its adherents to think, not about what they would die for but what – and who – they were prepared to live with.’
Reminded of Pascal Lamy's line. Biggest misconception about Brexit talks is that this is a negotiation. On every major issue so far: EU sets out its terms; London baulks, says no, lashes out... and then agrees
Tomorrow we run the final part of
#NoChild2020
, a year-long project focused on child poverty and ways to eradicate it. In all, more than 100 articles, videos, graphics, photos, OpEds and podcasts
We've collaborated with An Post to provide a brilliant new nationwide service: The Irish Times (or any of 21 other papers or magazines) delivered direct to your door. See for more information
Today we publish the results of a long investigation by
@NaomiOhReally
, revealing that former members of the Defence Forces have been training Khalifa Haftar’s army in Libya - an apparent breach of a UN arms embargo ?
‘Where once it looked robust, now the unwritten constitution seems threadbare. Where once it promoted unity, now it amplifies division. And where once it was assumed to hold the union together, now it threatens to bring it down.’
The Partition Project is a new site that will house all our coverage of the Border 100 years on - its history, its place in Irish politics and culture, and its future
@irishtimes
BREAKING: Michael D Higgins has won a second term as president with 56% of the vote, the
@irishtimes
/ Ipsos MRBI exit poll suggests. Peter Casey comes second with 21%
‘It turns out that, legally speaking, the British government regards the right to identify as Irish as akin to the right to identify as a Tyrone GAA supporter.’ Irish Times editorial on the
@EmmandJDeSouza
case
Today's
@irishtimes
editorial: Without an overhaul of the legal system, "rape will continue to occupy the same ambiguous territory to which many of our darkest scandals were consigned: hidden, but hidden in plain sight."
Michael Viney was a ground-breaking social affairs journalist who was among the first to report on the scandal of Ireland’s industrial schools and Mother and Baby Homes.
‘The hope is that Connell gets his shit together, comes home, apologises to the lads, commits to training and makes the ‘savage’ contribution that gets Tubbercurry over the line in a bruising county final’. Superb by
@KeithDugganIT